DEA Arrests High Ranking MS-13 Leader In Long Island Crackdown

posted by Bill Galluccio -

2 months ago

The DEA has put MS-13 on notice after a major crackdown netted 17 arrests in Long Island. 12 of the people arrested were alleged members of the violent gang. According to the New York Post, they face "a laundry list of charges, including second-degree murder, drug trafficking and conspiracy" which could land the alleged gang members in jail for 25 years to life.

Not only did they take 17 violent criminals off the street, they managed to nab "the highest-level Mara Salvatrucha leader in the Northeast who reports to MS-13 in El Salvador."

The arrests were the culmination of a multi-agency investigation into MS-13's activities on Long Island, which has been "terrorized" by drug traffickers.

These alleged gang members have terrorized vulnerable immigrant communities, trafficked deadly heroin into our neighborhoods, and this coalition of more than 22 agencies nationwide will continue to be unrelenting in our efforts to dismantle MS-13.

DEA Special Agent in Charge James Hunt said what "started as a small-scale drug investigation on Long Island" quickly ballooned into a massive investigation with multiple agencies called in to help take down the violent gang.

The arrests are a major victory against MS-13, and officials say this is just the beginning. Hunt said the arrests "sent a message that we will continue to investigate their violent crimes and bring justice to their victims."